Poconos' Wurst Festival brings out Bavarian food, music and fun

Friday

Jul 13, 2012 at 12:01 AM

Miss your dancing shoes, music, brats and brews? You don't have to wait until autumn to celebrate Oktoberfest when you can eat and dance in July at the fourth annual Poconos' Wurst Festival this weekend.

JOHN WARCHOL

Miss your dancing shoes, music, brats and brews? You don't have to wait until autumn to celebrate Oktoberfest when you can eat and dance in July at the fourth annual Poconos' Wurst Festival this weekend.

"Oktoberfest had its roots as an early 19th-century festival to celebrate the royal German family. In the modern age, Oktoberfest is a celebration of Bavarian culture, featuring ethnic foods and music and of course, beer. In recognition of both the German and Polish communities that live in our region, Shawnee Mountain commemorates these groups with a festival in July," said Kevin B. Adams, group sales director for Shawnee Mountain.

Adams pointed out that "wurst" means sausage, and there are many types of wursts made. One of the feature vendors at the festival is The Alpine Wurst and Meat House from Honesdale.

"The Alpine has been a premier manufacturer of German sausages, cold cuts and meats for over 30 years. Festival attendees will find these following specialty wursts at the Alpine House food booth: bratwurst, krainerwurst, knockwurst and bauernwurst," Adams said.

Of course, attendees will find a proper selection of beers to wash down their wursts, weiners and kielbasa.

"These will include an assortment of Budweiser products ... as well as a local crafted beer brewed right down the road from Shawnee Mountain at the ShawneeCraft Brewing Company. This crafted brew called Biere Blanche (which means White Beer) is a Belgian-Style wheat beer that is refreshing, tart, and spicy. We will also offer Landshark and Hoegaarden beers," Adams said.

One of the highlights of the festival will be the Janosik Polish Dance Ensemble, which has performed at the festival for the last three years. Ann Louise Pyzik-Colduvell, the business manager, is also well aware of the delicious foods. "The organizers have arranged excellent food and merchandise vendors. All of our dancers have sampled the delicious foods," she said.

Since its inception in October 1971, Janosik has been devoted to the teaching and performing of Polish dance, Polish song and the preservation and dissemination of Polish customs and culture.

Janosik has performed throughout the Northeast and Poland. The group will have 12 dancers performing national and regional dances to traditional Polish music in authentic Polish costumes.

"We will be performing three 20-minute sets during the polka band breaks. Dances from the mountain region of Poland, national dances of the Polonez, Krakowiak, Mazur and Oberek and regional dances from Cieszyn and Kurpie will be highlighted," Pyzik-Colduvell said. There will also be several choral pieces.

What about the music? According to Adams, two of polka's best-known orchestras will play at the festival: Grammy-award winner Jimmy Sturr will perform Saturday, and Walt Groller and his Orchestra will appear Sunday.

New to the festival is the Chardon Polka Band that hails from just outside Cleveland, Ohio.

"The Chardon Polka Band is known for being innovative and extremely adaptive with the ability to please almost any audience; whether it be 20-somethings at a college hangout, or the patrons of a local senior center," Adams said.

Jake Kouwe of the Chardon Polka Band is also looking forward to the feast: "I'm a sauerkraut guy. I can't get enough of the stuff."

Kouwe said that the band strives to be innovative and fun. "I believe that our band is popular because we strive to be something no one has seen before. We're polka ... but we're fun and hip. We bring a new uniqueness and edge to the genre. A normal show for us includes some old favorite polkas that everyone can sing along with, our own self-written polkas like 'The Free Beer Polka,' and polka renditions of everything from Lady Gaga's 'Bad Romance' to Simon and Garfunkel's 'Cecilia.' "

For kids, The Puppen Meister Marionette and Bavarian Juggling Shows will be performed twice each day in the Kinder Kids Area. Throughout the day, there will be face painting, a huge inflatable Bavarian slide and, new this year, Whacky Rubber Duck Races.